It's a Long Way To Dearest Gravesfield

Chapter 27: Closure

As they leave the room, Hunter turns to Darius, "Wait, stop. He said he wanted my lungs for making another Grimwalker. That means Caleb's somewhere nearby."

Darius stares for a moment, horrified, before he shakes his head, "Hunter...no. You're put together enough to move you, but if you get up, It might kill you. You're not stable. You'd tear Viney's repairs and bleed to death."

He's visibly saddened by this realization, "Oh. So I have to leave him behind."

Willow, standing on his other side, takes his hand, looking to Darius, "I can take him home if you'd be willing to stay. I know you want to be with him, but...."

Hunter sighs, "I trust you'll take care of him," he says, looking up at Darius, "Please? This is really important to me."

King, following with the Collector, speaks up, "We'll be here, too. We can help make sure Caleb's safe."

The Collector looks confused, "How would he not be safe? He's not alive."

"I'll explain," Darius says, "But only after we get Hunter on his way."

"I'll take care of him, Darius," Willow says.

"You can't take the abomination formation with you, though. How will you carry him?"

She turns to Clover, sitting on her shoulder, "Go get Alador, OK? Or Amity? Let them know we need an abominations person to come help with Hunter. We can explain why when they get here." Clover flies away. "There. That'll help."

They wait until Alador and Amity both come across the bridge, "What do you need, Willow?" Amity asks.

"Darius needs to stay here a little bit – we think Caleb's body is here somewhere and Hunter needs to know it's safe. So could you take over the abomination bed Hunter's being carried on?" Willow asks.

Alador nods, "Of course. It's a little tricky to take over another person's formation, but...."

"But not impossible," Darius says, "And despite my opinions of you, you're more than capable of this."

Alador smiles, "Thank you, Darius." He concentrates and conjures his own abomination matter, easing it into Darius' formation as Darius draws away his own. When it's done, Alador nods, "We'll keep him safe. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Alador. I...I need to know he's being taken care of. I trust you'll do the job well."

"He's family, of course I will," Alador says, "Now go take care of what you need to do. We'll see you in Latissa."

Willow looks to Darius, "Don't worry. We've got this."

Darius smiles at her, "I know you do." They leave with Hunter. He turns his attention to King and the Collector.

King is explaining why the dead are so important to Hunter, "...and so that's why he's worried about keeping whatever's left safe. He needs to understand where he came from and he's afraid someone might find this place and ransack it or something."

"Nobody knows what's here, though," the Collector says, "It doesn't make sense."

"Emotions don't have to make sense," King says gently, "This is important to Hunter. We need to be OK with that, even if we don't get it."

The Collector thinks for a moment, "Alright." They turn to Darius, "But there's more than just Caleb's bones here. Wanna see?"

Darius hesitates, "What else is here?"

"The Grimwalkers."

Darius freezes, "What?"

"The dead ones. He threw them down there," the Collector says, pointing into the chasm, "I can show you."